Swift-handed
adj ·Rare ·Advanced level
Definitions
- 1 Characterized by quick, skillful movements of the hands.
"Then as they fought on foot, fast and fiercely with their swords, Tristrem, being sorely wounded in the thigh, grew well-nigh mad with pain, and with one swift-handed heavy stroke cleft Moraunt's helmet to his skull, breaking the sword-point in his brain."
- 2 Quick to respond or react.
"But, in the simple questions submitted to the Peruvian judge, delay would have been useless; and the Spaniards, familiar with the evils growing out of long-protracted suits, where the successful litigant is too often a ruined man, are loud in their encomiums of this swift-handed and economical justice."
Example
More examples"Then as they fought on foot, fast and fiercely with their swords, Tristrem, being sorely wounded in the thigh, grew well-nigh mad with pain, and with one swift-handed heavy stroke cleft Moraunt's helmet to his skull, breaking the sword-point in his brain."
Etymology
From swift + handed.
More for "swift-handed"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.